Stand Tall
by Blue421
Summary: While getting ready for the Spring Fling dance, Eli reflects on his relationship with Clare and the struggles they have faced.  One shot.  COMPLETE.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Degrassi.**

This is a oneshot and it takes place during the Spring Dance that happened in Drop the World. I wrote this months ago but never got around to uploading it. I completely forgot about it until last night to be honest. So, I know it's really late storyline wise, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Thanks for reading!

**_Stand Tall_ **by** Dirty Heads**

_So I stand tall, it gets a little better_  
><em>I see the wall that we can break down together<em>  
><em>Stand strong, it gets a little better now<em>  
><em>We can break it down, yes, we can break it<em>

* * *

><p>He tugged on his shirt collar and let out a frustrated sigh. He hated dressing up.<p>

"Why did I agree to do this?" Eli asked himself as he stared at his reflection in the mirror. He looked completely ridiculous.

He thought back to when the first poster had gone up in the hallway near his locker. It was yellow and there were flowers all over it. In the middle of the poster, the words "Spring Fling Dance!" practically screamed at him. He had scoffed and rolled his eyes. He had no desire to go. Why would he? The last dance he went to almost resulted in him getting stabbed. But then Clare had asked him to go two days later.

"_Please, Eli? It will be fun, I promise! It won't be like last time. No Fitz and no knife."_

"_Yea right, Clare. I don't – "_

"_Eli." She stuck out her bottom lip._

"_Not fair." Eli groaned. "You know I can't say no to that face."_

"_So does that mean you'll go?" Clare asked as a grin spread across her face._

"_Fine. But if I see Fitz, I'm gone."_

"_Deal!"_

Eli laughed as he remembered how loudly Clare had squealed after he had agreed to take her to the dance. The only thing that motivated him to go to this dance was the thought of Clare getting all dressed up. Even though they didn't go to the last dance together, he had seen her in her dress. She had looked breathtaking. He was glad that this time she was dressing up for him instead of Fitz. He clenched his fists as he thought about everything that happened that night.

"Calm down, Eli. She's going with you, not that Neanderthal." He said to himself as he closed his eyes and slowly let out his breath.

It was something that he was legitimately afraid of. He was terrified that Clare would leave him for Fitz. Ever since he had come back to Degrassi, preaching about Jesus and forgiveness, Eli's anxiety had shot through the roof. What if Clare decided Fitz was better for her? They were both Christians after all. Could a Christian and an Atheist even be happy together in the long run? This wasn't the first time Eli had thought about all of this. It was a problem that had plagued his mind for weeks. Months. He knew he should talk about it with someone, but at the back of his mind he knew there was no one who would understand what he meant. They wouldn't understand what he was going through. He knew talking to Clare about his fears and worries would be his best option, but he could already predict her response. She would smile that heart-stopping smile of hers, place a hand to his cheek, and tell him that he was being silly. He knew that she loved him but for some reason that didn't stop the thoughts running through his mind. He wanted to be with her all the time but feared she would think he was suffocating her. He placed his hands to his face and began rubbing at his tired eyes.

That was another problem. He hadn't been sleeping. Worrying about Fitz's motives, his relationship with Clare, and the rapidly approaching two year anniversary of Julia's death kept Eli from sleeping. There was too much on his mind and even though he desperately longed for sleep, his brain wouldn't shut off. On the rare occasion that it would, Eli was only able to sleep for a few hours at a time before he would sit bolt upright, sweating in his bed, trying to calm his heart which was sent into overdrive because of yet another bad nightmare.

"Pull yourself together, man." Eli mumbled as he opened his eyes and ran his hands through his hair and shook his head.

He was scared by how quickly his thoughts had gone from happy to paranoid to sad. He glanced at himself one more time in the mirror and reached up to fix his disheveled hair. He walked to his closet and pulled out the black blazer he had bought for the dance. He slipped the jacket on and stepped back to the mirror. He watched his reflection straighten the red tie Clare had picked out. He watched his reflection button up the jacket. He stared back as his reflection finished preparing for the dance that he didn't want to attend.

He turned to his bed and snatched up his keys and wallet. He walked out of his room, pulling the door shut behind him. As he walked down the stairs and into the kitchen to pull Clare's corsage from the fridge, he never stopped telling himself to shut up and calm down. He was going to this dance with Clare. There was no feud. There would be no knife. Clare promised that everything would be okay.

"You look so handsome." Cece said suddenly, causing Eli to jump and slam the refrigerator door.

"Jesus, Mom! Don't do that." Eli replied harshly as he turned to face her. He sighed softly when he noticed the sad look on her face. "Sorry." He replied as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm tired and you scared me. Did you need something?" He asked as he moved closer to her.

She said nothing but simply held up a camera. Eli groaned.

"Mom, Clare's not even here. I'm picking her up." Once again, Cece's face fell slightly. She looked up at him and stuck out her bottom lip. Pouting. His mother was pouting.

"Woah, no fair! You learned that from Clare." Eli couldn't help but laugh at the look on his mother's face. It perfectly matched the one that Clare knew would make Eli putty in her hands.

"It works for her; I figured I'd try it too. Is it working?" She asked as she playfully nudged his shoulder.

"Maybe. Ugh, Mom, fine. You can have one. That's it." He set the corsage down on the counter and stood in front of his mother. Cece grinned and raised the camera to look through the viewfinder. She snapped the picture and Eli blinked a few times to clear the flash spots from his vision. He turned around to pick up the corsage and when he faced his mother again, she was holding the camera out to him. Rolling his eyes, he took the camera from her hands and slipped it into the pocket of his dress pants.

"If her parents don't take pictures of the two of you, get Adam to do it. I don't have any pictures of you and Clare and I'd like one." Cece said as she reached forward to straighten Eli's tie.

"Do you think I'm good for her, Mom?" Eli asked suddenly. The sadness in his voice startled Cece, causing her to look up at him.

"I do, Babyboy. When you two are together you light up a room. I believe that together you two can do anything. She's helped you through so much and you've done the same for her. Don't stress out about this so much, Eli. She loves you. Everything will be okay." Cece placed a hand on Eli's cheek.

"I hope you're right, Mom. I really hope you're right. She means everything to me and I don't know what I'd do without her." Eli swallowed and glanced away from his mother's eyes.

"Then go get her. Go have fun." Cece leaned forward and placed a kiss on her son's cheek.

"Thanks."

"Any time, Baby."

Eli gave his mother a hug and headed for the front door. He pulled the door shut behind him and jogged to Morty. He unlocked the door and slid into the driver's seat. He started up the engine and began the drive to Clare's. Once there, he cut the engine and sat in silence for a moment. He looked at Clare's house. He shook out his hair and opened the door. He approached her front door and reached out his fist and knocked loudly. When the door finally swung open, there was Clare, waiting for him with a large grin on her face.

He stepped inside and handed her the corsage. "You look beautiful. Red is definitely your color." He said breathlessly.

Clare took the corsage and then looked down at the floor, blushing furiously.

He wasn't sure why, but the sight of Clare blushing at his words calmed him. Maybe things would be okay. He didn't know what the future had in store for them, but he did know what the present had to offer.

And that was enough.


End file.
